Are Rams the perfect cure for sickly Seahawks?

Rams running back Steven Jackson was held to 67 yards in Seattle’s 28-0 shutout win in the season opener. (Getty Images/Otto Greule Jr.)

If the Seattle Seahawks need a cure for what ails them, they might have just the right tonic in the St. Louis Rams this Sunday.

Seahawks can’t win on the road? No worries, the Rams can’t win at home, having been outscored 165-69 on their own artificial turf this season.

Injury problems? Not compared to St. Louis, which will be minus quarterback Marc Bulger and as many as four other offensive starters for this one.

Lacking in motivation at 3-7? How do you figure the Rams feel at 1-9, playing in front of the first non-sellout crowd of the year in the Edward Jones Dome for the 10 a.m. kickoff?

Even history smiles kindly on the Seahawks’ chances. Of Seattle’s 14 road wins over the past five seasons, four have come against the Rams.

The Seahawks are thus riding a nine-game winning streak over their NFC West rivals, the longest domination over any opponent in franchise history.

The trick now is for the Seahawks to pony up the type of effort required to finally win a game where they actually appear to have the talent edge, particularly if Rams running back Steven Jackson isn’t cleared to play.

“There’s still a lot to play for and a lot to really prove to ourselves,” Burleson said. “Proving to the critics and fans is a little out of reach because a lot of people have hopped off the wagon. So right now, it’s about proving to ourselves who we are and what we can do.”

One thing the Seahawks have proven is is they can handle St. Louis. They battered the Rams 28-0 in the opening game this year, setting a tone that lasted all of a single week as the Seahawks then proceeded to lose three straight.

But, hey, they certainly have the Rams’ number and now catch their favorite whipping boys at a time when St. Louis just lost Bulger for the season with a fractured knee.

He’ll be replaced by backup Kyle Boller, who started in place of Bulger twice earlier this year and led the Rams to a 35-0 loss at San Francisco and a 38-10 setback at home against Minnesota.

Boller totaled just 317 yards, two interceptions and no touchdowns in those two losses.

Additionally, Jackson is battling back spasms that kept him out of practice all week and three other offensive starters — linemen Richie Incognito and Jason Smith and fullback Mike Karney — are all uncertain as well with various injuries.

In other words, the Seahawks surely can’t use the injury card as an excuse this week. When both teams were near full strength in the opener, the result was a dominating day Seattle in which Matt Hasselbeck threw three touchdowns and the Seahawks’ defense pitched an aggressive shutout.

Rob Sims

“We were watching the film and I was thinking, ‘Man, that’s how we started off the season,'” said offensive guard Rob Sims. “It was a good feeling. It’s kind of crazy to think we’re at this point right now after looking at that game.”

Which is why the Seahawks say they won’t take this one for granted.

“If we were having a good season we might have a tendency to relax,” Burleson said. “But because we haven’t had the season we’ve wanted, nothing else matters now. We can bring up this hoopla about what we did when we played them earlier, but that was a long time ago.”

Now, according to Burleson, is time for the Seahawks to start answering questions and beginning to solve situations that can’t wait for an offseason overhaul.

“We have to figure out who we are,” he said. “We have to figure out the character of this team and some identity to this team. Because if we don’t, this stuff will follow us into the offseason.

“You can’t just continue to play poorly and then pack it in and expect everything to get turned around in the summer time. If we do create some momentum and start playing well, regardless of what happens with the playoff situation, we’ll have something to hold on to, some foundation, something to grab onto when we go into these camps and the draft and training camp next year.

“What we do now is going to have a great affect on next season.”

Julius Jones

The Seahawks likely will be without starting running back Julius Jones, who will determine shortly before game time if he’s recovered from a bruised lung suffered two weeks ago in Arizona.

If he can’t go, Justin Forsett will get his second straight start. Forsett ran for just 9 yards last week against Minnesota and the Seahawks were held to a franchise-record 4 yards rushing as a team, but the Rams aren’t nearly as stout defensively.

St. Louis ranks 29th in the NFL in total defense (385.1 yards per game) and 28th in run defense (146.4). The Rams aren’t much better on the offensive side, ranking 31st in the league in scoring at 11.3 points per game despite the presence of Jackson, the league’s second-leading rusher.

But Seahawks coach Jim Mora doesn’t expect his team to overlook anyone at this point, not at the end of a tough three-game road stretch that has pushed his group to the edge of the cliff.

“When you’re 3-7, I don’t think you should take anything for granted,” Mora said. “Nor do I think we will.”